my (pro-activ-free) skin miracle

Let me start off by saying that I am not one to put myself out there when it comes to truly personal things. I used to not tell anyone if they had broccoli in their teeth, because I thought it was rude. But I know people don't want to walk around with broccoli in their teeth, so I'm working on it. If there's something that can help other people, regardless of how uncomfortable it may make me, the kindest thing to do is to share that something. So here goes.

I wish I had taken a before picture so you could truly appreciate the after. But you can use your imagination. Throughout my teenage years, I was basically like every other teenager. I dealt with hormones and all the glorious side effects. Fast forward: I grow up, get married, and we decide to start our family. So I come off birth control. And cue the acne. Way worse than I ever remember it being in high school. One positive is that I'm sure it made me look younger? Because who would think someone in their mid-twenties would struggle with it like I did?

My cousin is getting married next month and I'm in her wedding. I want to look good. One morning a few weeks ago I was just FED. UP. I had found a blog through Pinterest that had piqued my interest, so I consulted Empowered Sustenance. I was heading to "the city" this particular day, so I picked up as much as I could there, and had my mom visit her co-op to get the rest. That night, using what I had on hand, I began my journey.

So here's what I've been doing:

Morning: put 1/2 tsp raw honey in my hands and rub on my face. Rinse with warm-ish water. Follow with an organic toner (I already had this and am trying to use it up before I make my own), and this Egyptian Magic cream (again, trying to use up what I have before I make my own - in this case, I will be making a facial oil). Apply all-natural makeup. Do not pick at face!

During the day: here's probably the key. Make better food/drink choices! Instead of fried, choose grilled. Instead of fries, choose fruit cup. Skip dessert. Have water with lemon, and occasionally tea. It's ok to cheat every once in a while, but that should be the exception rather than the rule. Do not pick at face!

Night: put some coconut oil on my hands and rub together until it becomes more oil-like in consistency. Rub on face (do not take makeup off before, do not wet before, just put it straight on my face). Massage my face, making this a relaxing ritual. Wet washcloth with very warm water. Lay over face for 20 seconds to open pores. Wipe face clean (don't scrub). Apply toner. Use more coconut oil as moisturizer as needed. Thoroughly wet the end of a q-tip with tea tree oil to use as spot treatment. Lather lips with Vaseline (nothing to do with acne, but my lips have also been crazy dry this winter). Do not pick at face!

It's been a week and a half and I can tell a HUGE differene! This thrills me. Yesterday I wore abut half the amount of makeup I usually do, and when I woke up this morning and looked in the mirror, I was pleased to see that I could walk out the door with NO makeup on if I wanted! I will not be doing that, however, as I would be confused for a young boy (I have super short hair and a young-looking face). But it's now an option! I will continue doing what I've been doing for a long while, and look forward to continued improvement. Let me know if you try it and it works for you!

frugal fabulosity

so one of the reasons i started this blog (yes, there are reasons; i don't intend to bore you with the ins and outs of my daily life) is because i think i am somewhat different from other money-saving, intensely frugal bloggers in this: it is not in my nature to want to save money or be green or make my own things. it is in my nature to want to dress like i walked off a fashion runway, wearing high-end makeup and smelling of the best roses money can buy. we're not just talking i-want-to-wear-trendy-clothes. we're talking haute couture here. that is what i waaaaaaaant. bad. but more than anything else, i want to be an excellent wife and mother. so i am setting out to discover how i can look and feel as amazing as that ideal image of myself in my head, while saving major bucks and simplifying my life a bit.

you've probably noticed by now that i really like having my nails done. i don't necessarily enjoy the process of getting my nails done, but rather the end result of having them done. my first big girl job was selling gorgeous, very very nice jewelry. when i walk into a jewelry store, if your nails don't look good, i will not buy anything from you. to me, the way you look speaks of the jewelry. in a store with truly high quality jewelry, even the salespeople are proud of that (and the store probably makes enough to pay them enough to keep up their appearance), and that is reflected in the way they present themselves to their customers. but in general, i feel like i look so much more polished with my nails done -- even if i'm wearing sweats and no makeup. so today i want to share what i've come up with so far to keep my nails looking good without spending much money at all.

i have a lot of nail polish from back when $8-$10 per bottle was nothing to me (or so i thought), and several free bottles from couponing. so no need to spend money there. i prefer pink nails, on the paler side, which happens to be the type of color that doesn't show chips as badly -- thereby lengthening the life of your manicure. i have a few tools that the normal person may not have in their cabinet, but these are easily and cheaply found at sally's or somewhere like that. so here are the steps i take:

1. scrape feet with ped egg (follow their instructions). pretty disgusting, and sure, i'd rather someone else do this. but my labor is free for myself.
2. put a good lotion/cream all over feet (you can get special foot creams or just use the best stuff you have)
3. remove all existing polish -- use a q-tip to get around edges
4. push back cuticles
5. use a cuticle oil. put it on a cotton ball and rub around edges of nails. i usually follow up with a dry cotton ball to absorb excess moisture
6. buff nails (i use a file that has been used so much it won't file well anymore -- this could be bad advice, not sure; i also have one of those four sided thingies, so i use the sides in order until my nails aren't rough anymore, but aren't quite shiny yet)
7. trim nails (shorter nails get in the way less, meaning less likelihood to chip polish)
8. file nails
9.  use a base coat. for my fingernails, i use a clear strengthener polish
10. wait a few minutes, then paint the first coat of color (i usually paint my nails while watching tv. so i will paint a coat when the commercial break starts, then wait til the next commercial break to paint the next coat)
11. paint a second coat of color, and get some on the edge of the fingernail, the part that is perpendicular to the flat surface of the nail (this, to me, makes it look more like you got your nails done and less like you painted them yourself. you will get some on your skin unless you're really talented, but don't worry about that now)
12. paint a top coat
13. after a few minutes, take a q-tip dipped in polish remover and go around your nails on your skin. this will get off the polish from when you painted the edges. and if you're like me, you didn't paint inside the lines anywhere else either
14. do not do anything with your hands for AT LEAST an hour! (so maybe you should do this process when you're catching up on several shows at once)
15. i usually take a shower before i go anywhere. this helps to get any remaining polish off my skin (i'm really very bad at painting)

hope this has helped! also, i promise i will work on making my posts shorter. good night :)